As far as public school law in the state of Maryland is concerned there are 5 offences for which an education employee can be terminated. They are:

1. Insubordination- failure to comply with a directive of a supervisor.2. Misconduct in Office- seriously violating the ethics of the profession, state or federal education law or school system policy while performing the official duties of the profession.3. Incompetence- Prolonged and demonstrable unsatisfactory job performance generally through an established evaluation practice.4. Immorality- Commission of acts, in office or in private life, that would be considered to be reasonably immoral.5. Failure to report abuse or neglect.

Numbers 1, 2 and 5 are the easiest to prove and most commonly charged.

With respect to Insubordination, my general advice when given a directive that might be counter to the Negotiated Agreement (contract), is to follow the directive and grieve after the fact. You do not, however, have to follow a directive that could be illegal or immoral.

Misconduct in Office can apply to many issues, but most often involves not following an established school system policy or practice. School system employees are expected to be aware of policies- especially those that you sign off that you are aware of- think sexual harassment or acceptable use policies.

Your obligation to report abuse or neglect is also one that you sign that you're aware of and not reporting is one of the quickest ways to lose your job. There is no harm that can come to you by reporting- even if you're wrong. Furthermore, your responsibility to report does not end with the guidance counselor. You must also report to Child Protective Services. Administrators and counselors can put you in touch with CPS, but you can also report directly to them. You can reach CPS by following the link below:

​http://dhr.maryland.gov/local-offices/allegany-county/

Numbers 3 and 4 are a bit more self-explanatory, but also more subjective.

With any of the big 5 you are entitled to appeal a decision to terminate. If you are a dues paying member, you are also entitled to assistance with an appeal from the Association.

As the 2017-2018 school year approaches ( I know, it went too fast), I felt like it might me time to take another crack at using the blog feature on our website to get some basic information and thoughts into a forum that is accessible to our members.

For starters, I'm going to be working with ACEA leadership and Association Reps to launch ACEA's first ever Building Blitz. The Blitz is pretty simple. We're going to be attempting to get to every building within the first two months of school to hold brief 10 minute meetings.

What is the first thing a you should do when confronted with almost any issue for which you feel like you might need ACTA representation? The first thing is to seek out and talk with your building rep and, if you can't do that,call the office and speak to me or Debbie ASAP. But after that, the most important thing after that is to document your side of the story.

If you've had a run-in with a parent? Document.If you've had an uncomfortable talk with your supervisor? Document.If you have an incident with a student? Document.When in doubt? Document.

Documentation is very simple. Just remember to record the who, what, where, when, why and how and try to be as unemotional in your description as possible. Do not make judgements or accusations of the others involved. Simply tell your side of the story. Be concrete and use as simple language as you can. Save your documentation in such a way that you can access it at all times- even if you can't get to school.

Also remember that you have a right to representation in any administrative meeting, but, unlike Miranda rights, you have to ask for it. If an administrator requires you to attend a meeting, you must or risk being insubordinate. If that is the case, you are within your rights to say, "I'd be happy to discuss this matter further once I have union representation."

The position of UniServ (Short for Unified Service Model) Director was developed by NEA as a blanket title for field staff of primarily state affilitates like MSEA. The idea was to create staff positions that would provide direct service to members of a bargaining unit as it related to contract issues, evaluation appeals, legal matters and grievances. The UniServ position was also created to provide advice and to act as a liason between local education associations, their state affilitates and NEA.While UniServ Directors still function in these capacities primarily, the job has also broadened in scope to include organizing, public advocacy and building organizational capacity.

Simply put, a UniServ Director works with and on behalf of Association members to fight for public education. As your UniServ Director, I will be there with you advocating for what's best for our schools and the professionals that work in them.